Hollow building block



v. A. BARNHART 1,829,435 y HoLLow BUILDING BLOCK oct, 27', 1931.

Filed Sept. 2l. 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 w HM A TTORNEYS` Y v0d. 27, 1931.v A, BARNHART ll,829,435

HOLLOW BUILDINGv BLOCK Filed Sept. 21, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 NVENTOR.

VER/v A. 54m/HART A TTORNEYS a, C U 3%,WJI/f C. 27, 1931. V, A, BARNHARTil1,829,435

HOLLOW BUILDING BLOCK Filed Sept. 21, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet' 4 E? nu EF:12W

Umm' D W j Hum SHN-UI 13 l E I' E |11 3 HM E mm .I g uw] JNVENToR. E iEMWIN Hw j [HW Big/@RN 4 5/www? .D HW EMWIN @@Wy 'j ATTORNEYS PatentedOct. `27, 1931 UNITED STATES `PATENT OFFICE VERN A.. BARNHART, OFMILLINGTON, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO UTILITY BLOCK, INC., 0F NEWARK, NEWJERSEY, A. CORPORATION 0F NEW YORK HOLLOW BUILDING BLOCK Application.led September 21, 1929. Serial No. 394,164.

The invention relates to the construction of building walls, and moreparticularly to walls consisting of hollow building blocks of the typegenerally referred to as hollow tile and which in many structures arefaced with brick veneer or its equivalent. The object of the inventionis to provide a hollow building block constructed in a novel manner topermit its use independently of'any other units in the completeconstruction of a wall and more particularly a back-up wall and to avoidthe necessity for any so-called patch work by the use of common brick orspecial units in completing wall lengths. The invention contemplatesfurther a hollow block dimensioned in predetermined proportion tostandard brick sizes, and easily divisible into unequal sections of suchshape and dimensions with respect to standard brick sizes that buildingwalls may be constructed from such blocks and sections thereof in amanner to give complete end set back up construction in brick lengths tothe end of the wall, to avoid open cells and to do away with thenecessity for using patching units to complete the construction and soas to include any special features such as pipe chases, jamb recesses,piers, pilasters, set back pylons, column coverings etc. Another objectof the invention is the provision of la hollow building block `ofpredetermined, proportionate dimensions adapted to be divided intounequal sections each bearing a predetermined ratio toxsuch dimensionsand all capable of being used as parts of a building wall to therebyavold waste and thus reduce the cost of such Wally y tion hereinafter,and the features of novelty will be pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which, without defining the limits of theinvention, illustrate rexamples of the novel building 9 9, 10-10, and11--11 of Fig. 7, and Figs.

12 to 20 inclusive are diagrammatic views illustrating nine differentways in which to build back up walls with sixth course headers toprovide complete end set construction in brick lengths.

In all of its forms the novel building block is constructed as a hollowunit which includes void-s or cells extending vertically so that in usethe hollow block provides complete closed end set constructions, theblock lengths further being dimensioned in accordance with standardbrick sizes and being easily divisible into separate sections, each ofwhich is dimensioned in relatively exact proportion to such standardbrick sizes.

As shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 the novel hollow block consists of a shell15, the thickness of which is approximately uniform, and whichpreferably is suitably scored upon its exterior surfaces for instance bybeing provided with vertically extending grooves 16 of dovetail form incross section and arranged in spaced parallel relation as illustrated.At a predetermined point the shell 15 is provided interiorly with atransverse web 17 preferably of relatively greater thickness than saidshell 15 as shown by way of examplein Fig. 1. In the illustrated examplethe web 17 is located nearer to one end of the block so as to provide ama]or cell orl void 18 and a minor cell or void 19, both of which extendvertically through the block Vand open at the upper and lower facesthereof. The external dimensions of the block shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3are such that lts length in the direction A is for instance one and onehalf times the length of a standard commercial brick, while the heightof the block corresponds to the dmenslons of any predetermined number ofbrick heights plus the joints as for instance, the height of two coursesof standard brick with included mortar joints. With the arrangementshown in the drawings the location of the web 17 is such that the majorcell'or void 18 is approximately three times as long as the minor cell19 which consequently is substantially,7 one third of the length of thecell 18, so

that both sections of the block, of which theI divisions of the web 17form parts, consti-- tute complete units of dimensions bearing apredetermined ratio to the dimensions of standard bricks; it will beunderstood that in some forms the major void 18 may itself be divided byone or more suitable webs. The web 17 includes a line of cleavageextending through the central vertical plane thereof indicated by theline 20 and including a suitable kerf 20 at its terminal ends, andconsisting for instance of dovetail and other grooves 21 arranged inopposed relation to each other and joined together along said centralvertical plane as shown in Fig. 1, or equivalent devices suitable to thematerial used in the manufacture for bringing about correspondingresults.

With this form when the block is divided i along the cleavage line 20,which may be easily done by means of a sharp blow delivered by a trowelor hammer, two separate and complete hollow block sections C and D ofunequal lengths will be provided. In the illustrated example theresulting section C will be about two thirds of the length of thecomplete block and will correspond approximately to the length of astandard brick, while the section D will comprise about one third of thelength of said complete block and correspond approximately to the widthof such standard brick which generally speaking correspondsapproximate-ly to one half the length of such standard brick. Inaddition to this, the web 17 when separated will consist of ytwo partseach of which constitute one wall of the sections C and D respectively,each part being externally provided with the dovetail grooves 21 ortheir equivalent. As a result, at least two adjacent walls of each ofthe sections C and D in the illustrated example include dovetail groovesor equivalent scoring, so that both sectionsconstitute complete unitsof. dimensions bearing a predetermined ratio to the. dimensions of theaforesaid standard bricks.

In the form shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, the

i block likewise consists of a shell 15a of apparallel relation asshown. At a predeter' mined point the shell 15a is provided interiorlywith a transverse web .17a preferably of greater thickness than theshell 15a; in the illustrated example the web 17a is of approximatelydouble the thickness of the shell 15, and corresponds in locationtherein to the web 17 of the form .irst described. In the form now beingdescribed the shell 15a includes one or more additional webs, located inpredetermined position with respect to the web 17a. In the illustratedexample the shell 15a is accordingly provided with a web 17 b extendinglengthwise of said shell between one end wall thereof and the web 17aand a webv 17 extending longitudinally of the shell 15a between theother end wall thereof and the web 17 a preferably in alignment with theweb 17b as shown in Fig. 4. With this arrangement the shell is dividedinto two sections by the web 17a each of which sections are divided intotwo parts to form two cells or voids 18a and two cells. or voids 19a allof which extend vertically through the block from the lower to the uppersurfaces thereof. In the illustrated example of this form of the blockthe external dimensions are such that its length in the direction A isfor instance one and one half times that of a conventional standardbrick, while the height of the block in` this case being also equal toany number of brick heights plus the joints and corresponding forinstance to two or more brick courses with included mortar joints.

The web 17 a in this form also includes a line of cleavage extendingthrough the vertical plane thereof indicated by the line 20JL andpreferably provided at its terminal ends with a suitablekerf such as20', said cleavage' line either corresponding to that ofFig. 1, or asshown in the illustrated example, consisting ofa continuous slit 21a,arranged equidistantly upon opposite sides of and extending along saidcentral plane as shown in Fig.I

scribed. The two sections C and D each include one half portion of theweb 17 a which thus become end walls of said sections so that the lattereach yconstitute complete blocks bearing lpredetermined size relationsto standard bricks and at least two adjacent walls of each of saidsections including scoring grooves 16El and 21a or being otherwisescored in an equivalent manner.

It will be understood that the thickness of the novel blocks maycorrespond to any predetermined dimensions in ,accordance with vblocksare designed.

In Figs. 7-11 inclusive, the drawings show an example of a wallconstructed with hollow j blocks of the type hereinbefore described,said wall, for the purposes of description and to illustrate utilityincluding groups of blocks of varying dimensions all bearingpredetermined relation to standard brick sizes and all including thenovel features of the improved block. Furthermore, the illustrated wallincludes a facing of brick of standard, commercial size bonded invarious ways to further illustrate the utility of the noyel blocks andto clearly show the avoidance of patchwork of any kind.

As shown in Fig. 7 the three lower courses of the wall are built up ofhollow blocks preferably of the type shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 and of a`height corresponding to the height of two courses of standard brick andincluded mortar joints. The blocks, in their complete form,`are laid instaggered relation incourses in the customary manner, `as indicated ata, the lowermost course comprising tw'o blocks set in surface contactwith each other, and` properly bofided together and the second and thirdcourses consisting of single rows of the hollow blocks set to the insideof the wall as shown. Thev facing of bricks a is laid in two courses inthe customaryv manner in contact with and bonded by mortar to the outerrow of blocks a: the bricks g2 in the third course which constitute aheader course, are laid at right angles to the bricks a so as to projectover and in contact with the blocks a of the lower course as illustratedin Fig. 7. Upon the inner end portions of the bricks a2 another row ofblocks such as a are laid as indicated at a3 after which two additionalcourses of bricks a" are laid in the conventional manner; the neXtcourse of bricks againconsi sts of bricks a2 laid at right angles to thebricks a so as to project over and in contact'with the blocks a3 asshown. At the exposed end face of the wall, which may represent a am orterminal of any kind` the lower course of blocks may, as shown, includea section C of one of the indicated blocks laid at right angles to theblocks a, it being understood that this is only an example and thatother arrangements of said section C in said wall may be substituted tosecure corresponding results; in some cases the sections D may beutilized in the wall at this point to provide similar construction. Thesection C,

i when laid as indicated in Fig.7, being apv proXimately of the samedimensions as'two of the same blocks laid in surface engagement as at a,the end of the wall at this point will be properly finished to givecomplete end set back up construction in 'brick lengths without the aidof patchwork of any kind.

With the hollow blocks arranged as in the three lowermost coursesefficient and perfect Lesa-185 header bonds between the bricks and theblocks are eected at every third course of' bricks.

In the fourth course of the wall complete blocks of the type shown inFigs. 4, 5 and 6 are laid in the customary manner, as indicated at b,the blocks each having a height corresponding to three standard bricksand included joints. The brick facing at this point consists of threecourses laid in the conventional manner as indicated at b and bonded inthe customary way to the 'outer faces of the blocks b. In the neXtsucceeding course the facing bricks are laid at right angles to thebricks b as indicated at b2 so as to project inwardly over and incontact with the blocks b, to constitute a header course. The next threecourses starting at b2 consist of blocks similar to the blocks a butcorresponding in height to three standard bricks plus joints instead oftwo, said blocks b3 being laid to form the inner face of the wall atthis point, and being also laid upon the inner end portions of theoverlapping headerbricks b2; the terminal ends of the fifth and seventhcourses consist of sections D of the blocks shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3,but corresponding in height to three.courses of standard brick, plusjoints. Above the course of header bricks b2 three courses of bricks bare laid in the conventional manner and bonded by mortar to the outersurfaces of the blocks b3, after which another course of header bricksis laid at right angles so as to project over and in Contact with theblocks 723 of the outer row. With the method of building the portion ofthe wall now being described efiicient and perfect header bonds betweenthe brick facing and the vhollow blocks are provided at every fourthcourse of the facing bricks, and the terminal end face ofthe wall isfinished. at the requiredplaces,

with sections C and D and without requiring patch work of any kind. Itwill be noted in the portion of the illustrated wall comprisingthe-tenth to the eighteenth courses of bricks inclusive and theassociated blocks, that` no through mortar joints extend transverselythrough the wall, so that seepage of 'moisture through said Wallisprevented.

The upper continuing portion of the wall shown in Fig. 7 is built up ofhollow building blocks of the type herein under discus,- sion and of therequired dimensions so that header bonds 7between the brick facing andthe hollow blocks are provided respectively at every fifth, sixth andseventh course of the aforesaid facing bricks. The portions of the wallin each case include sections of the complete blocks so laid in therespective courses as to complete the wall portions and terminalsurfaces thereof, as illustrated, to provide complete end set back upconstruction in brick lengths without theneed for any patchwork.' Inaddition to this, as shown in the different sectional Views illustratedin Figs. 8-11, the hollow blocks may be laid and built up to providecolumn'enclosures and to build transverse walls without the need forpatchwork of any kind, or for the introduction of any extraneousmaterials.v It will of -course be understood that there are numerousother ways of assembling the blocks to provide the same or equivalentresults, as is clearly indicated in Figs. 12-20. l

There are in existence many different types of hollow building blocksdesigned to tit various definite heights of brickwork., but whichrequire the introduction of special units with each change in theposition or location of the bonding course, and all of which is donewithout regard to brick lengths when it is desiredto bond the brickfacing into the wall of hollow blocks. In the instant casek onthe otherhand, the hollow building block is designed and specially constructed tobe divisible into sections of whole brick lengths and sectionscorresponding to the width of said bricks, which, as previously statedcorrespond approximately to half the lengths of such bricks, with whichdifferent sections the complete building construction may be eected andwhich will build a header backup wall at' any desired predeterminedcourse', and which gives complete closed end set construction in allwalls laid out in. brick dimensions.

In a great many cases the bricks are not bonded to the back up wall bythe use of headers but are tied thereto bymeans of metal wall ties. Thepreviously mentioned objections to existing hollow building blocks arepresent to the same extent under such conditions, while the utility ofthe novel block will be just as pronounced with such walllconstructionsas with those which include the header bonds. Manufacturing may besimpliiied by providing the novel hollow blocksJ in two predetermineddifferent heights so that Aonly two dies are required and only twodifferent cuts are necessary for height: with such blocks, only aminimum number of stock A .piles are required to serviceA any operationfor the completion of all wall details. Without the hollow block nowbeing described, it isv impossible to avoid patchwork in all 'normalbuilding of walls or equivalent structures. Face walls built with brickare in lengths which are multiples of four inches, for example: twobricks equal sixteen inches,- two and one half bricks equal twentyinches, etc. Hollow blocks generally are oiV twelve inches in length andas such can fit only one third of the possible wall lengths. Wheretwelve inch hollow units are used with the voids horizontal. it isimpossible to fit one third of the possible brickwall lengths and tosecure closures so that patchwork must be resorted to to .complete theconstruction. Special shapes have been put on the market from time totime in an attempt to make units. Such brickwork is invariably found atjambs, terminals, chases or piers where load concentrations occur. Testshave been vconducted to determine the strength of such patchworkconstruction, and it has been conclusively proven that the wall strengthat such points with the patchwork described,.

results in a comparatively weak wall. This may be understood when it ispointed out that the brickwork requires amuch greater number of mortarbed joints than the tile work. For instance, at a window jamb six feethigh, patched with brick, there would be twenty seven bed jointstotalling approximately 131/2 inches of mortar. The use of the novelhollow block reduces the amount of mortar thickness by one-half or moreand inasmuch as the mortar is the weak element, thus bring about areduction, which is most desirable; moreover, the desirable unity in theamount of mortar for producing unity of wall structure also results fromthe use of the novel block. Al wal-l constructed/,of such novel blockis-in good balance at the points of concentrated load and thuseliminates shearing action which is developed between the main wall andthe brick patching In a wall constructed of the improved holl lowblocks, the number of through mortar joints is reduced to a minimum andthe insidek of the wall' may be composed of blocks of the same verticaldimensions throughout. The design of the novel block as compared withboth special and common units ,of existing form may be considerablylighter in weight and at the sametiin'e meet the samey code requirementsfor which said units of existing formsare designed.' F or instance wherethe code requirements specify shells and webs to be not less than 3A inthickness and the block to contain not more than 55% voids, would meanthat the common side set block 5 X 8x 12 would have 238% cubic inches ofmaterial and would have a void area of approximately 50% and a netbearing area of 27 sq. in. with no end wall bearing while the novelblock described herein with all 1% shells and webs, .the thickened webbeing 1%, wouldhave 220 cubic inches of material and a void area of 46%and a net bearing area of 27 sq. in. plus the added in., while the novelblock as described would have 1271A? cubic inches of material and 47%voids and a net bearing area of 18 sq. 1n. It will readily be seen thatusing the same thicknesses 'of wall constructions for both, the

weight thus would be reduced by 61% in favor of the new unit withoutdisturbing' the net bearing area which is the main factor in hollow tilestrength and wall construction. It is a well accepted fact that end setconstruction in itself is stronger than side set construction. Thisvdecrease in weight results in atremendous saving in manufacture andtransportation charges, and also reduces .the *dead load structure, andat'the same time speedsl up and economizes in the distribution of theunits and in the labor of setting same on a given job. Because of itsnovel design and'construction the new block may be made of any sort ofsuitable materialand yet respond toall of the requirements of any exist,

ing code, and the bearing wall thicknesses may be considerably greaterthan with the `existing units, without increasing the dead weight orsolid area thereof. Furthermore, the machine production of the novelhollow blocks is more than double in ordinary twelve inch units.

The design of the novelhollow block as compared with both vcommon andspecial units'of existing formvmay be considerably lighter in weight,for instance, using the same wall and web thicknesses ofL 1 for bothblocks, as compared to the common block of 5 x 8 x 12 dimensions laidwith the voids horizontal, which has 300 cubic inches of material and 36sq. in. of net bearing area with no end wall bearing, the new unit ,incorresponding dimensions will have only 255 cubic. inchesof materialwith 36 sq. in. of net bearing area plus an added bearing at wall endsof 6 sq. in., orin other words an increase of 16% in the net bearingarea at the wall terminals, pipe chases, etc. where it is of greatestvalue. The

' weight thus would be reduced by 15% in favor of the new unit.

Oneof the most desirable and important advantages of the novel hollowblock is found in the possibilityA of enabling the brick layer to easilylay it with one hand. Practically all end set units of existing formhave a complicated centre construction which necessitates a broad,spreading ofthe hand, wherein not secure a full hand hold on any part ofthe block. With existing side set unitsl it is necessary for thebricklayer to lift the entire load, represented by each unit, with thepressure of his finger tips in attempting to lay such units with onehand; this results in seriously cramping the hand and throws the unitsout of balance during such handling. The novel block on the other hand,because of its construction, enables the bricklayer to develop a fullhand grip on an inner wall thereof without bringing the sensitive andtender parts of the fingers into contact with the sharp edges of theunit. In other words it is unnecessary to spread the hand to producewhat may be termed a short finger hold on the block, but rather the handis permitted to assume a natural unstrained gripping position in whichthe hand and fingers comfortably grasp the block in what may bedesignated as a long hold. The nov^el block may accordingly beefficiently manipulated with one hand and'without causing the bricklayerto experience undue strain and fatigue.

By a combination of the novel units of the two heights hereinbeforereferred to to secure certain predetermined `points with the face brick,a very desirable condition results, in that the bed joints of' theforward portion of the backup break with the bed joints of the innerportion of such backup. This breaky, ing of the bed joints to the end ofthe wall prevents the passage of moisture and water through the wall andthereby avoids the necessity for furring and damproofing. This is animportant advantage for the reason that in structures such as largeoffice and other buildings, it is the architects 'greatest desire tosecure av waterproof or dampproof wall; it has generally been found thaton all large buildings dampness or water penetrates through t-he mortarjoints. The walls Iin practically all cases are non-load bearingorsimply curtain or spandrel walls and the architect accordinglylis mostanxiousl to have the backup wall as waterproof or dampproof as possible.Complete end set construction to the end of the wall in brick lengths isla big step in this direction, but a complete breaking of all horizontalbed ymortar joints in this backup wall gives still greater insuranceagainst dampness. By a combination of the novel units of the two heightsherein- `before referred to, to secure certain predetermined points withthe face brick, a very desirable condition results, in that the bedjoints of the forward portion of the backup break with the bed joints ofthe inner portion of such backup. This breaking of the bed jointspreventsthe passage of water or moisture through the wall and results ina much drier construction than otherwise is the case.

In Figs. 12 to 20 inclusive nine di'erent ways are shown in which to usethe novel blocks to build backup walls with sixth course headers andcomplete end set construction in brick lengths; the construction shownin Figs. 14 and 15 in addition illustrates'two methods of arranging thenovel blocks in a manner to secure the above water and dampproof resultsand to provide complete endl set back up construction in brick lengths.It will be noted that, with the novel blocks,

it is possible to start the construction on a level without thenecessity for special shapes and to bring it to the level desiredwithout the need for an increased mortar bed or special slab asgenerally is the case with existingr lunits where it is attempted tobreak or stagger the mortar lioints.

Various changes in the specific forms shown and described mav be madewithin the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

I claim:

1. A hollow building block for end set construction comprising a shelldimensioned in proportion to standard brick sizes. a double web dividino: said shell to 'form vertical cells, said web beingt provided witha cleavage f opening. said web and cleavage. opening being located at adistance from one end of the block substantiallv emial to one-third ofthe complete block length wherebv the block maybe divided into twosections` one of which is substantially half the length of the other andboth of which correspond snbstantiallv m hand. y VERN A. BARNHART.

to at least one dimension ot' said standard easily gripped portionwherebv it may be grasped with one hand forplacing it in end setposition.

o end set in a back-up construction. comprising a shell having a lengthone and one-half that of a brick length, a double web dividing saidshell to form vertical cells, said dou- Able web being provided with acleavage opening having tapered ends. said web and cleavage openinglocated a distance from one end of the block corresponding substantiallyto vthe length of a brick'whereby the block may be divided into twosections. one of which sections is half the length of the other, saidweb and verticalv cells cooperating to formv a hand lgrip whereby theblock may be placed in an end set position with one hand. 3. A hollow'building block adapted to be end set in a back-up construction`comprising a shell, a vertical web dividing the shell into two verticalcells, a vertical ,double web crossing said first web substantially atright clls to form four cells, said second web being provided with acleavage opening,l said shell having a length substantially equal tothat of one and one-halt` bricks, the said cleavage opening being spacedfrom one end of the block a distance corresponding subbri'ck sizes, saidweb and cells forming an 2. A hollow building block adapted to be anglesand dividing saidvtwo first mentioned'

